Safest places to live in Kansas
The counties and cities with the lowest natural disaster risk, ranked from FEMA's National Risk Index and checked against storm, hurricane and earthquake records.
Pottawatomie County has the lowest natural disaster risk of the 27 Kansas counties with 20,000 or more people, followed by Ellis County and Harvey County. At the other end, Sedgwick County carries the highest risk in the state, mostly from inland flooding. Ranks use FEMA's overall risk score, which weighs expected yearly losses against how vulnerable and how resilient each county is.
Lowest-risk counties
All 105 counties ›25,328 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 37 tornadoes since 1950, 18 federal declarations.2Ellis County
28,929 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 66 tornadoes since 1950, 13 federal declarations.3Harvey County
34,024 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 53 tornadoes since 1950, 22 federal declarations.4McPherson County
30,217 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 53 tornadoes since 1950, 17 federal declarations.5Geary County
36,621 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 20 tornadoes since 1950, 14 federal declarations.6Seward County
21,948 people. Top hazard: Drought. 39 tornadoes since 1950, 10 federal declarations.7Miami County
34,178 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 22 tornadoes since 1950, 14 federal declarations.8Franklin County
25,975 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 29 tornadoes since 1950, 20 federal declarations.9Lyon County
32,153 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 50 tornadoes since 1950, 25 federal declarations.10Sumner County
22,359 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 89 tornadoes since 1950, 25 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Ford County, 27,613 people2Manhattan
Riley County, 54,239 people3Garden City
Finney County, 27,819 people4Salina
Saline County, 46,307 people5Leavenworth
Leavenworth County, 37,195 people6Lawrence
Douglas County, 96,051 people7Hutchinson
Reno County, 39,709 people8Topeka
Shawnee County, 125,786 people9Kansas City
Wyandotte County, 155,135 people10Overland Park
Johnson County, 200,306 people
Cities with 25,000 or more people. The rating is for the county the city is in.
Highest-risk counties
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 91 tornadoes since 1950, 15 federal declarations.2Johnson County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 45 tornadoes since 1950, 10 federal declarations.3Wyandotte County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 11 tornadoes since 1950, 24 federal declarations.4Shawnee County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 52 tornadoes since 1950, 15 federal declarations.5Reno County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 88 tornadoes since 1950, 22 federal declarations.
Before you move
A county rating is an average. Inside any county, homes near rivers, coasts or steep slopes carry more risk than the rest. Look up the exact address with our flood zone lookup, ask the seller about past flood or storm claims, and get an insurance quote before you commit.
Questions
What is the safest county in Kansas from natural disasters?
Pottawatomie County has the lowest overall risk score among Kansas counties with 20,000 or more people, rated very low by FEMA's National Risk Index. Its biggest remaining hazard is inland flooding.
What is the safest city in Kansas from natural disasters?
Dodge City sits in Ford County, which has the lowest risk score of any Kansas county containing a city of 25,000 or more people. County ratings cover the whole county, so check the flood zone of any address you are considering.
Which counties in Kansas have the highest disaster risk?
Sedgwick County, Johnson County and Wyandotte County have the highest overall risk scores in the state.
Does a low rating mean no disasters?
No. A low rating means lower expected losses compared with other US counties, after accounting for how many people and buildings are exposed and how well the area recovers. Floods and severe storms can happen anywhere, and most flood claims come from outside mapped high-risk zones.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); NOAA Storm Events and HURDAT2; USGS earthquake catalog; OpenFEMA declarations since 1953.